Junior Development Squad (JDS)

Target Shooting NZ's Junior Development Squad aims to prepare young shooters for the demands of competitive shooting both nationally and internationally.

The Squad consists of up to 12 shooters aged between 13 and 21 years.

JDS members are coached in Air Rifle, 50m Prone and 3P - see below how this happens in the reports on JDS Camps.

Note that Juniors currently shooting only Indoor will need to be prepared to move into at least one of these other areas to be eligible for the JDS, as Indoor shooting is not the focus for JDS training.

TSNZ has JDS equipment the members can lease, and as well as having ongoing access to their Coaches, the JDS Squad can attend up to four weekend training camps a year. At times keen older shooters are also invited to join these training camps.

We arrived in the Manawatu and were given the choice between spending the day on Air rifle or kneeling. After a sixty shot mock match on kneeling, Jamie, the local 3P expert arrived and politely explained the reason why my foot felt like it was falling of and exactly how to fix it. After that it was time for a session of “Jamie’s words of wisdom” and after half an hour of constructively bullying Lachie and Shaun, we all knew exactly the right way to set up a training plan for both short and long-term goals, and everyone including the other coaches had learned something new about trigger release technique and ideal sight picture.

Day Two

On the second day the Air rifle and Kneeling groups swapped and after an few hours of balance and natural point of Aim training we took a break to learn about dealing with wind. While it was originally supposed to be a basic overview it quickly spiralled out of control and by the end of it everyone involved knew far more than necessary about both projectile motion and wind patterns.

I was then given access to the squad's SCATT system. The ability to see every single flaw and twitch from the beginning to end of the aiming and firing process, while amazing and incredibly useful, was also very humbling. Being able to see exactly how unstable you really are has a way of shattering illusions. Lunch was supposed to be a calm break but somewhere along the line we got distracted and ended up discussing the correct way to manufacture precision barrels and methods of rifling ending with a demonstration on how to calculate the twist rate of your rifle. During this time Jono and Jamie simultaneously attempted to let me borrow their fancy front sight with Jono eventually winning out.

To recap: I was put in one of the best ranges in the country with some of the best coaches in the country with near unlimited ammunition and was allowed to borrow gear that I would never have access to at home. All In all, a great time. As always, thank you so much to the Coaches for such excellent work and for all the behind the scenes activity necessary to keep everything running.

JDS Camp - September 2018 - Palmerston North

by JDS member, Kate

Day 1 – 1st September

This was our third camp of the year and it was held at the RR&G range in Palmerston North. This is the first time the new JDS-ers got to try out 3P and the kneeling position, while the rest of us cracked into it, we practiced our natural point of aim and continued to develop our positions. This camp was run by Craig and Owen, along side our “JDS mum” Kelly, as Jono and Helen were overseas in Changwon, as Helen competed in the 2018 World Championships. We were all so excited to hear the results and we all look up to her immensely.

Meanwhile, we were in Manawatu stuck in the cold and our kneeling position, LOL. As the wind was quite strong and kept changing, we just focussed on our position and firing good shots. By the end of the day we all felt comfortable in our kneeling position and were able to fire some great shots.

We just kept practicing and constantly updating our diaries with any new adjustments or things we learnt. We then packed up and headed back to the hotel for JDS Special and a good night sleep, before a big day of shooting the next day.

Day 2 – 2nd September

Today we had a surprise visitor who came to help us, an ex JDS member, Jamie. We started the day by stretching, which looked awkward and funny for some, as they had already put all their gear on and could hardly touch their toes. Jamie was awesome and spent one-on-one time with each of us, I found this really, useful and he helped me find a comfortable and stable kneeling position, I then started firing much better groups.

We continued practicing kneeling and also did some standing. We wrote down all of Jamie’s wise words in our diaries to help us to continue improving our shooting. Then we all packed up and headed our separate ways home.

Again, it was another awesome camp, all the JDS-ers, coaches and manager make it so much fun and an enjoyable environment to learn in.

To Kelly, our “JDS mum” thanks for all the giggles and making sure we are always fed, and all the time you put into organising the camps, so they are run smoothly and efficiently.

A big thank you goes to Craig and Owen our coaches for this camp, you always believe in us and give your knowledge for us to improve and succeed in the sport we all love. Thank you to our guest Jamie who also passed on a lot of skills for us to grow as shooters.

Thank you, RR&G, for the use of your range and facilities for the weekend, it is very much appreciated. Also, TSNZ thanks for the ongoing support you give all of us here at JDS.

See you all soon!

JDS Camp - June 2018 - Auckland

by JDS member, Liam

Last week was my second JDS camp, up in Auckland, held at the Parafed shooting range.

It was an awesome experience, especially being given the opportunity to shoot on electronic targets. It was pretty amazing how just after you made the shot, a circle comes up onto a screen next to you showing exactly where the shot went with the score. No need to wildly anticipate where the shot went as the pulley drags the target back. Then after a few shots later it would start displaying your average. I couldn’t believe it! There were also many other cool things that happened at camp.

Warren Smith a Sports Psychologist came and talked to us about his experiences and gave us many useful tips and advice. What really helped me was when we had a talk about how long I was holding and looking through the sights. Which by the way was far too long! I took the information on board and started to see some real improvements. Warren also set up a shooting game for us on the second day. At first, it seemed very confusing but by the end, I could definitely see the benefits.

Mike Johnson, a well-renowned gold medallist, came and talked to us about his inspirational story and what he did to get to where he is today. He showed us his gold medal from Athens 2004 Paralympic games and told us the story behind it.

On the last day the whole JDS team participated in a 40-shot match with a Final. This was quite a step up for me, but I really enjoyed it, although I was getting a little tired by the last few shots. After that, we sat down and talked about our shot patterns and drew on the print out to see if we had any group patterns, so we could identify any similarities and work out a strategy from there.

Overall, I had a blast at camp. I took so much away from being there. It was such an awesome experience to be surrounded by people so willing to help and make a difference. I would just like to thank TSNZ, Jono, Helen, Owen, Dave, Mike, Warren, Nick & Julie from Shooting Stuff and Kelly for contributing and making these camps possible. I can’t wait for the next one!